The Wrong Place - by Brecht Evens (Hardcover)

Book Synopsis

A new edition of the debut classic by a visionary stylist offered in a deluxe format

Rendered in vivid watercolor where parquet floors and patterned dresses morph together, The Wrong Place revolves around oft-absent Robbie, a charismatic lothario of mysterious celebrity who has the run of a city as chaotic as it is resplendent. Robbie's sexual energy captivates the attention of men and women alike; his literal and figurative brightness is a startling foil to the dreariness of his childhood friend, Francis.

With a hand as sensitive as it is exuberant, the first graphic novel by award-winning cartoonist Brecht Evens (The City of Belgium, Panther) captures the strange chemistry of social interaction as easily as he portrays the fragmented nature of identity. The Wrong Place contrasts life as it is, angst-ridden and awkward, with life as it can be: spontaneous, uninhibited, and free.

Review Quotes

"Evens is a master of crowd scenes and colour, and his psychedelic symphony bleeds into a pensive, washed-out dawn that suggests that even the wildest trips must end sometime." --James Smart, The Guardian

"This fizzy little novel is all about buzz, gossip, sex, and having fun. It's so busy and exuberant you wish you could join the party." --The Boston Globe

"Turning the pages, you never know what you'll find next: a scene from a children's fairytale, lush and magical; a comic strip, busy and droll; or a nightmare straight out of the lost sketchbook of Edvard Munch." --Rachel Cooke, The Guardian

About the Author

Belgian cartoonist Brecht Evens was born in 1986 and studied illustration in Ghent, Belgium. Important mentors were his illustration teacher Goele Dewanckel and cartoonist/comedy coach/zen master Randall Casaer.

His debut comic book, A Delivery from Outer Space, was released in 2005. The slightly melodramatic Vincent was released in 2006, followed in 2007 by a little nocturnal fantasy called Night Animals. The Wrong Place (2009), started out as a graduation project and was a departure from the more typical comic art of his earlier books. It won the Haarlem Comic Festival's Willy Vandersteen Award for best Dutch-language graphic novel, and an award at the Angouleme International Comics Festival. He followed The Wrong Place up with The Making Of (2012) and the many-year-end-best-of-list appearing Panther (2016).

Brecht lives in Paris in a charming and oh so Parisian garret apartment.